The Great Escape
by tmpayne80
Summary: Post-Past in the Present. Temperance is on the run with her daughter and no certain future. No copyright infringement intended, just taking in the joy or writing.
1. Chapter 1

Temperance

I had meant every last word I had said before Booth went to get the car. I was not with him only because of Christine. I loved him more than I thought I ever could. Driving away with Christine in that car seat was about the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I hated to admit the truth but dad had been right. Pelant had me in a corner. It was a choice of ending up in prison for something I did not do or try to make a run for it so that the team could build a case against him. I had to protect those I loved most. Getting behind the wheel of that car was the only way to protect Booth and keep Christine safe.

I drove until the sun was a memory. I did not stop until Christine let me know that she needed to changed or fed. I found a rest stop with just the right amenities to changer her and allow her to breast feed. I was feeling guilty for leaving the way I did. I found myself wishing I could be Christine. She had no apparent situational awareness.

It was hard not to look into her innocent eyes and not see Booth looking back at me. In the past, I would have found such a statement ridiculous at best. I could see him in them. It hurt to see it. I tried hard to return to my rationality but there was no going back. Christine and Booth had shut the metaphorical door through their influence. I could not help but wish that this whole thing was just some nightmare I could wake up from. My surroundings reminded me that this was a very real situation I never thought I would be in.

Dad had left some burner phones in the car for what I assumed was emergency only. He had left me the strictest instructions to their use. I felt the impossible to defeat need to call Booth one more time to let him know we were okay. I had learned after a few of our past investigations to make it fast. Pelant or the FBI would be watching him in order to get me.

I heard his voice when he answered. It was his usual greeting with an edge that had to be a result of what we found ourselves in.

I told him that I could not tell him where I was. I couldn't tell him because I was not completely sure where I was and I did not want him looking for me. I told him Christine and I was just fine. I knew he had to be worried. The last thing I told him was the most important to me. I told him that I loved him. It was all meant to make him feel better, but I started to wonder if I was trying to convince myself of the same.

"I love you too Parker." He sounded almost choked to say it. I knew he could not use my name to ensure my safety.

I hung up feeling sad yet happy. I found it an odd feeling to feel contradictory emotions all at one time. It felt good to hear his voice, but it hurt to have to hang up so fast. I felt the kind of pain run through my mind and heart that almost forced me to cry. In about a days' time, dad would be catching up with me give me what I needed to get through this. For the first time in my whole life, I felt like dad's past life was helpful.

Maybe it was the fact that Christine was just given the Catholic rite of Christening or my fear of what was ahead, but I found myself praying to the night sky that all of this would be over soon. Christine needed her dad as bad as I needed the best friend and lover I had ever had. I just kept praying. I was praying for her, for me, for Booth, and for the team.

Booth

I could have strangled Max for convincing her to run. I could have done it with my bare hands. As much as I hated to admit it, Max had been right. The evidence kept pointing to her and it would have been a short trial. She would have ended up in prison for life and I would have had to raise Christine without her. Max had been right on a few fine points. Max could keep herself safe because he knew how to be a fugitive. He was also correct in recognizing that both Bones and Christine were in grave danger with Pelant on the loose. I actually understood and appreciated the fact he kept me from becoming an accomplice.

Her words before I went to get the car replayed in a loud, constant loop in my head. Part of me knew I should have been scare when she said that. Part of me just brushed it off as her way of showing new affection towards me. Truth is that she never had to tell me that Christine was not her only reason for being with me. I had been in love with her for some time and she came to love me over time. I think she realized how much she loved me when Grave Digger got her paws on me. Word was that she knocked her out for what she did to me.

"Okay Booth. I have a few burn phones as a favor from an old friend. Once I find her I will call you from it. All you and the team can do is put this insane SOB away. I only ask you to trust me when Christine and Tempe's safety is concerned. I won't let anything happen to your precious little girl or my own." Max said before disappearing.

"I trust you. Please bring them back to me safe. I love both of them more than they can ever know." I almost sounded as if I was begging.

I felt the need to pray. I went back into the church to kneel in the pews. I prayed that God would protect my little girl and her mother. I prayed that He would give me the strength to get through this. I prayed that all of this would end in some positive way. I wanted my girls back with me.

My phone rang again as I was strapping myself into the car. The caller ID screen gave me no name but I had a sneaking suspicion that it was trouble calling to gloat cold heartedly.

"What a darling house you have and I have yet to see a prettier nursery in the magazines. Pity that all of that will become history when it goes up in smoke. Check mate." I heard the threat through his words.

I could have spoken my mind, but it would put all I loved into greater danger. As far as I knew, he did not know what she had done. I wisely just listened. It was not until after he hung up that I realized what he must have done. He had been in my house when I was not around. The nursery would have been the target if Christine had not been with her mother. My home was no longer safe and probably rigged to blow up at some point determined by him.

After speaking to Hodgins and Angela, I had a place to stay. I made an effort to be watchful of anything out of the ordinary and tried not to use my phone for anything that could raise suspicion or risk my girls' lives. My phone rang again with another "unknown" on the caller id screen.

I thought at first that it could be Pelant to harass me more. I was secretly hoping that it was Bones calling. There was an involuntary edge to my greeting.

"I can't tell you where I am. I wanted you to know that Christine and I are safe. I love you." She seemed to speed through it.

I could only respond with "I love you Parker." I did not want anyone who might be listening in around me to hear that I was talking to Bones. I felt her words resonate through every part of me. I started a continuous loop of prayer running through my head when I went to sleep. I needed mercy, I needed this to come to an end and soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Temperance

I caught up with dad at a small café in a very small town just inside the Virginia state line. I should actually say that it was him that found me. It was not long before I was about to enter the deserted town square that Christine started to cry. I knew that she was probably in need of a changing and another feeding. I had to admit that I was hungry as well and the junk food wasn't helping to fill me up.

I entered the café thinking that I would only be stopping long enough to eat. I saw my dad sitting in a booth with an older lady who looked too old to see past his scam. She had to have been over 70 years old. The funny part was that she took on a little bit of my dad's features.

"Irene, this is my daughter Marie. That precious little girl in the car seat is Sarah Mae." I could hear him turning on the charm.

His hair was almost black from the hair coloring. The old woman did not seem to notice or care that this was a lie. It did not matter. My stomach was growling and Christine was on the verge of waking this whole tow with her crying.

"It is very nice to meet you Irene." I used some of the skills that Booth had taught me over time.

"Dad, I need to nurse Sarah. I would greatly appreciate it if you could order me something to eat. I trust you." I requested before disappearing into the restroom to nurse and change Christine.

"Not a problem sweetie." He smiled at me with pride.

I changed her wet diaper and sat in the biggest bathroom stall to allow her to nurse. Christine could not have been happier. I was thinking about the life I had left behind and how much I missed it. I started missing Booth before I even got into the car to leave. I missed talking to Angela. It would not have been a big stretch to say that I was missing the whole team. They had become my family.

I emerged from the restroom to find a grilled cheese sandwich and fries waiting for me at the booth. Dad must have walked away for a moment while I was nursing her. Dad came back in from the outside alone.

"That would be your Aunt Irene. She is 70 years old and suffers from Alzheimer's. I hate to take advantage of such a terrible condition, but that is the easiest way to avoid detection. I managed to convince her to allow us to stay at our farmhouse. It is a long way from town and she has no other living relatives. I don't think she has many friends." He practically whispered.

"Is Booth okay?" Booth's well-being was my first concern.

"He was mad at me. He and the team are still trying to clear you. He made me promise to keep you two safe. That man loves you almost more than I do." I heard the tenderness in my father's voice.

I wanted to talk but my stomach's demand for food would not let me talk. I wanted to tell dad that I felt guilty for what I did but I knew it had been my only choice.

"I know leaving Booth was hard for you. I know that you did not want to leave. I was so happy when you met Booth. I thought I had done more damage than what time could repair. When you two got together, I knew that you had someone to look over you and love you back." The age and stress of the situation showed in his eyes.

"I just hope this whole nightmare will be over soon. Sarah needs her dad and I need him too. This situation is so unfair. It is unfair for everyone I love." I finally released all I was thinking into actual words.

"Don't worry. If I know Booth, he will come through for you. I know he would die for you if you asked him to. Your friends will get him and your life will return to how you like it." He patted my hand in reassurance.

I would have been skeptical if not for all I had helped them do and see them do. I knew that they would come through for me in time. It was only a matter of being patient. It had been a couple days since I talked to Booth I wondered if I would be allowed to hear his voice again.

"Dad, Would it be safe for us to call Booth?" I was in need of his voice at the very least.

"If it means that much to you, I can arrange it. I would normally stop you but I know this is the first time you have ever had to do this. I know that Booth hates it as much as you do. I have a burn phone for just this situation." I knew that he had done it out of love for me. I was sure he did not want to.

He removed something from his jacket pocket and handed it to me. I knew what it was. The Grave Digger used something similar throw us off when we were chasing her. I know that Booth would want to hear voice but this was the only way to do this.

I dialed his cell number and waited for him to pick up. His voice had filled my mind when I was ready to cry. I could still hear him say that it was going to be okay. It was the one thing that I could say that kept me optimistic.

The first words out of my mouth were the ones that I genuinely felt. I told him that I had faith in him and the team. I reassured him that his daughter was fine and that I was also fine. I waited for him to respond.

"I miss you too. The team and I will figure this out. Once we do, we will be a family again. Dad promised me that you would be safe and I know he will do it. Kiss my girl for me and tell her that her daddy loves her. I love you and I always will." His words had a therapeutic effect on my anxieties.

I told him I loved him one more time before I hung up. It gave me hope and the strength to hold out for a happy ending for the future.

Booth

Angela kept me constantly up-to-date with any evidence when it came out. Evidence was slowly started to point away from Bones. Pellant was slowly becoming a stronger suspect choice. Angela had decoded the virus that he had concocted using the library books. The police had received a call not long after I was called by Pellant that a strange man had been found on our property. The police had seen footprints but no sign of a break in. Pellant was getting bold, arrogant, and stupid. He was bound to mess up.

"Don't worry Booth, we will bring this to end and we will get her back. We all love and miss her. You already know that." Angela tried to reassure me.

I knew she was right and I knew I would have to have patience. This team had put countless criminals behind bars and cleared the innocent more than once. I knew personally that they would go above and beyond for the woman that had been more family than team member. I had thought about returning to the house but a phone call changed my mind. This time it was not Pellant but the fire department.

"Is this Mr. Booth I am talking to?" the voice asked.

"Yes it is." I was not comfortable with the tone of his voice.

I knew the tone of voice because I had used it too many times to count when I had to deliver the bad news. I feared that it might be about Bones. I had not heard from her in a couple days and that did not set well with me.

"Mr. Booth, We received a call from a neighbor when she heard an explosion. Some of the area houses were damaged in the explosion. We would like to speak to you." I was upset and grateful.

I should have known that Pellant was up to no good when he was reported on the property. Pellant had crossed a line when he planted a bomb in my house. He had intended to kill me and my family. We now had to catch him because he had tried to commit homicide. It was up to the FBI to catch him, not me. I was off of the case.

I had just got back to the bed when the phone rang. The number was once again unknown. I feared that it might be Pellant. I knew if it was him, I would have let him have it. I prayed that it would be Bones instead. I needed to know she was okay.

"I miss you." I knew it was her despite the voice scrambler used.

"I have complete faith in you. I know the team will get him. This can't last forever. Christine is fine. Don't worry about me. I am okay. I love you. Please always remember that." The voice scrambler could not rob me of the joy of knowing that she was alive and that there was still hope.

I reassured her that she was sorely missed by me. I also reassured her that I and the team would come through for her. She needed to be reassured that we would be a family again, so I did. I told her of the promised that Max had made me and that I trusted him to do so. I asked her to kiss my little girl for me. I reminded her that my love has no limits. I would love her always.

I discovered a new found strength to put Pellant way once and for all. He was going to go down by evidence or by his own hand. He was not going to get away with inflicting this kind of pain. He was going to answer for it the right way. As tempting as it was to kill him personally, I would never do it because of Christine. We were going to be a family again…


	3. Chapter 3

Booth

Two weeks had come and gone. I never thought that could miss two people so much as I did then. Our house had been a crime scene for two days when they told me what they had found out.

I was back at Angela's when I got the phone call from a police detective. I knew that was a good and bad thing. It was bad that my house had been destroyed with a bomb but at least they FBI might start realizing that Bones had nothing to do with these murders. It would have never made any sense for Bones to blow up her own house.

"Are you Mr. Seeley Booth?" he sounded like his throat had been made of sand paper.

"Yes I am." I answered still apprehensive about what was to be discovered.

"My name is Detective Lucas. We have the report back from the fire investigators. I don't want to discuss it over the phone for good reason. We would appreciate it if you came to the police station." I knew that meant that they had found something that seemed suspicious.

"I will be there in ten minutes." I answered instantly grabbing for the keys and heading out the door.

I felt as if someone had been following me the whole way there. People who could not understand the situation I found myself in would have called it outright paranoia. Pelant was on the loose and probably watching me so that he could figure out where Bones was. She was his target.

"Mr. Booth, I appreciate you coming to me verses me coming to you." The detective looked like he had been a smoker most of his life by the lines on his face and the smell of his coat.

"Not a problem detective. I would like to know what you found out. I left the house in perfect shape and now I don't have one." I tried to maintain my humor.

"Fire marshals found evidence that a bomb had been planted somewhere in one of the bedrooms. The most likely place appears to be the nursery. The debris in that area showed stronger evidence than the rest. The person responsible must have intended something terrible if that was indeed the placement." I shuttered with fear and anger of what I heard.

It was not bad enough that Pelant wanted Bones to suffer. He had to go a step further by planting an explosive in our daughter's nursery. I maintained a calm exterior but I was hotter than a volcano. This man had jumped over the fine lines that set me off. He wanted the two most important people in my life dead. Angela had told me that she was getting really close to figuring out what Sawyer written on the wall. Once that was figured out and proven to be accurate, I would be smiling as they put him back in hand cuffs and sent him off to prison.

"Mr. Booth, Would you know of anyone who might want you or your family dead?" He asked as he took out his pencil and pocket-note pad.

"My partner and I put a man away for a murder not too long ago. I was just recently taken off the case. He has the capabilities and the motive for destroying our house." I tried not to allow any hostility to slip into my voice.

"Has he ever contacted you or approached you before the explosion?" He was still jotting down the previous information.

"I received a call about 12 hours before the explosion. I was more bothered that he had entered my home, I had not thought about the idea that he might have planted explosives." I realized that he had been bragging and I had not noticed.

"Have you seen or heard from him since?" He looked up from the note pad.

"No." I answered concerned now for the safety of my family now that he had not been heard from.

I knew instantly what I had to do for the sake of the two ladies that I loved so dearly. I had to find them and I had to protect them. If I went to jail, it would be worth it. Pelant was intent on making sure that Bones and Christine would not survive this mess. I too would drop from the radar screen until he was caught. I had to undertake the most important undercover assignment in my whole life.

I dyed my hair, changed my eye color with contacts, and changed my style completely. I had to find her. I would be ready for the next call. I would get her name and I would find out where she was. Pelant would not take her from me and he would not take the life of my child, especially if I had anything to say about it.

Temperance

The old lady never seemed to catch on that anything was amiss. She would talk pleasantly of her past and talk about her dead husband with such joy. It made me miss Booth so much more than I already was. I never thought that I could miss waking up next to the same man just about every day. I never thought that I could miss the sound of one person's voice as much as I missed his. Being on the run turned out to be the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

I was in tears one night while I nursed Christine. Dad noticed me and spoke up with fatherly compassion.

"Okay sweetheart?" He asked placing his hand on my left shoulder.

"I'm just fine dad." I tried to hide my feelings with a neutral tone of voice.

"I know you miss him. I missed your mother so much after she passed. You kind of get used to someone always being there. When they are no longer there, it hurts." He was wiser than I gave him credit for.

"How much longer do you think this is going to last? I don't know how much longer I can take this." I allowed some of the stress to drain my loaded mind.

"I know Booth. He will catch this loony bin and allow life to return to normal. He loves you that much." I knew that he was right.

"Do you think that he will come for us despite the fact that it could put him in jail?" I had the idea that he just might.

"He would be a fool to but I don't doubt that he won't try. I have a bad feeling that something worse has happened since your absence. Men like Pelant are crazy and they don't stop until they accomplish their own twisted goals." I knew again that dad was completely correct in his assessment.

I secretly hope that he would do exactly that. Pelant was just twisted enough to do some crazy things. He tortured a man with wolves and beheaded others. He was seriously deranged and determined. I knew that it was not just my life at risk but so was Christine's.

I called Angela from the burn phone. I only left a message that I was well and where I might be in the vaguest terms. It may have been a bad move on my part but I guess I was secretly hoping that she would tell Booth.

Dad never knew I did it. I just hoped that my choice had been smart. If I was extremely lucky, Pelant would never know and Booth would be here soon.

About a day after the call, I found a familiar face at the coffee shop. His hair was almost black and cut close. His eyes were the most interesting shade of green. The clothing was not so different from the people of the area. He could have fooled other people, but I knew who it was.

Booth looked my way and smiled. I had to admit that I was happy to see him. I knew why he was there and I felt a sudden sense of safety. Dad looked over and saw him as well. I saw him shake his head and smile.

"It can't be. I thought he was smarter than this." I knew my dad was disappointed.

He walked over to our table and smiled the most charming smile. I knew that we were in hiding and it was essentially an undercover case we were involuntarily thrown into.

"I am new in town and thought that maybe you could give me a guided tour." He was turning on the charm for the people around us and not so much me.

"The name's Marie. Who might you be?" I played along with script that was playing out between us.

"My name is Marshall Tanner. Nice to meet you Marie." He kissed my hand dramatically.

Dad was ready to roll his eyes but he knew that it was in his best interest to play along with us. It was odd to be undercover like this but it was oddly entertaining. Something in his eyes told me that there was some frightening news.

"Mr. Tanner, I think we can help you with that." Dad stepped up and shook his hand.

How long could we be safe now that both of us were on the run?


End file.
